Shakespeare's only trilogy Beleaguered with war and fury

Henry VI, the only trilogy written by William Shakespeare, ie. (Part 1) in 1589-90 (Part 2) in 1590-1 and (Part 3) in 1590-1 within a span of over two years is a play full of battle, fury and civil war recorded with revenge and York's gradual rise to power.

The play begins with war in France where the English try, vainly, to hold on to their possessions with a perilous breakdown of order in England. Internal dissension that is fatal to a campaign abroad, presages civil war.

The play is set in England and France.

News arrive that France have beaten back the English at the Westminster Abbey funeral of Henry V and the valiant General Talbot has been captured. The Dauphine is crowned. In Gloucester, the Lord Protector who is the uncle of the gentle young Henry VI and the Bishop of Winchester who is Henry's great-uncle are dangerously at odds. In France Joan La Pucelle who is not seen as the fabled Joan-of Arc but as a harlot and a witch in league with the powers of darkness, raises the seige of Oreleans. However, Talbot regains the city.

Talbot: 'Where is my strength, my valour and my force?

Our English troops retire, I cannot stay them

A woman clad in armour chaseth them (enter La Pucelle)

Here, here she comes... I'll have a bond with her.

Devil or devil's dam, I'll conjure thee

Blood will I draw on thee, thou art a witch

And straightaway give thy soul to him.

ACT. III

Purcell: 'Come, come; t'is only I that must disgrace thee (they fight)

In London, a feud between ambitious Richard Plantagenet who claims the throne and the Earl of Somerset moves over to the symbolic plucking of the roses in Temple Gardens where a white rose is for Plantagenet and a red rose for Somerset. King Henry is crowned King of France in Paris and makes Richard the Duke of York. La Pucelle is captured. Henry seeking to make peace, puts on a red rose, saying

'I see no reason, if I wear this rose

Than anyone should therefore be suspicious

I more incline to Somerset than York.

Talbot dies heartbroken with his young son outside Bordeaux where no reinforcement has reached him from the quarrelling nobles. Young Talbot is captured and tormented. He dies when girdled with a waist of iron.

York: 'He dies, we lose, I break my war-like word

We mourn, France smiles, we lose, they daily get

All long of this vile traitor Somerset.'

Act. IV, Scene III

La Purcelle is taken prisoner before Angers and deserted by her evil spirits, and sent to the stake. Peace is patched between England and France. Margaret, the beautiful daughter of Regainer and captive of the unscrupulous Earl of Suffolk plans for his own benefit to have her married to the king but is turned down. Later he breaks a previous diplomatic betrothal and orders Suffolk to bring back Margaret as his Queen.

Part II of the Trilogy

In the middle of York's gradual rise to power is, Jack Cade's mob-law rebellion.

With the death of the Duke of Humphery and the banishment and death of Duke of Suffolk along with the tragic end of the proud Cardinal of Winchester, rises the first claim of the Duke of York to the Crown. The Lord Protector's thrusting wife, the Duchess of Gloucester attempts to learn the future from a 'conjuror' and a witch and is arrested for treason and is banished to the Isle of Man, after she does a penance through London, barefoot, covered in a white sheet. She warns of honest husband of his enemies. Though the king believe the ever-honest Gloucester, removes him from the Protectorship. He too is arrested.

King Henry: 'Stay, Humphrey; The Duke of Gloucester. Ere thou go.

Give up thy staff; Henry will to himself

Protector be and God shall be my hope

My stay, my guide, and lantern to my feet

And go in peace, Humphrey, no less belov'd

Than when thou wert Protector to the King.'

Act. II Scene III

York manages to implicate him for the loss of France and is later murdered through an agency of Suffolk. Cardinal Beaufort dies, confessing it. York goes to quell an Irish army leaving Jack Cade of Ashford to begin a rebellion in and around London. However, this ends with a pardon to those who forsake Cade. Cade dies in combat with Alexander Iden at Kentish Garden. Meanwhile, pirates murder Suffolk. When York returns with his army The wars of roses begin in earnest for Henry, Margaret, Somerset and old Clifford for Lancaster, Warwick and Salisbury for York and his sons. York who demands the crown wins the battle of St. Albans where Clifford and Somerset are slain.

Henry VI (Part 2) is the best of the three plays with lot of scope for drama and dialogue but some of its adaptions and compressions were mutilated due to its fast-moving actions. The main plot of the story is based here and we see King Henry VI more mature and able to depend on himself rather than his Lords and Dukes as were in Part I. He still remains the youthful king, erring most of the time on his decisions but as righteous and honest as a ruler should be.

In performance

A version of the York rested heavily on Part 2 of the trilogy. Frank Benson did the play by itself in 1906. Y B Yates called the chronicles a strange procession of Kings and Queens of nobles and insurgent crowds, of countries and people of the gutter.

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